In some communication systems, for example, global system for mobile communications (GSM, Global System for Mobile Communications), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), code division multiple access (CDMA, Code Division Multiple Access), and worldwide interoperability for microwave access (Wimax, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), to ensure normal communication over the network, some data, for example, network element data, need be collected.
The universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) is a third generation mobile communication system that adopts the WCDMA air interface technology. The UMTS system is usually called the WCDMA communication system.
For example, FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a UMTS in the prior art. The universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) adopts a structure similar to a second generation mobile communication system, including a radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN) and a core network (Core Network, CN). The radio access network processes all radio-related functions and the CN processes all voice calls and data connections in the UMTS system and implements functions of switching and routing with external networks. Logically, the CN is divided into a circuit switched domain (Circuit Switched Domain, CS) and a packet switched domain (Packet Switched Domain, PS).
The core network CN includes an MSC/VLR, a serving GPRS support node (SGSN, Serving GPRS Support Node), an HLR, a gateway mobile-services switching centre (GMSC, Gateway Mobile-services Switching Centre), and a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN, Gateway GPRS Support Node). The core network may be connected to an external network (External Network) through the GMSC or GGSN. For example, the core network may be connected to a public land mobile network (PLMN, Public Land Mobile Network), a public switched telephone network (PSTN, Public Switched Telephone Network), or an integrated services digital network (ISDN, Integrated Services Digital Network) through the GMSC; and may be connected to the Internet INTERNET through the GGSN.
The UMTS system includes a universal terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network), a CN, and a user equipment (User Equipment, UE).
FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a UTRAN in the prior art. The UTRAN is a terrestrial radio access network and includes one or more radio network subsystems (RNS, Radio Network Subsystem). An RNS includes one radio network controller (RNC, Radio Network Controller) and one or more base stations (NodeB). The interface between the RNC and CN is an Iu interface, and the NodeB and RNC are connected through an Iub interface. Within the UTRAN, radio network controllers (RNC) are interconnected through an Iur interfasce which implements connection by using direct physical connection between the RNCs or by using a transport network. RNC allocates and controls radio resources of the NodeB connected or related to the RNC. The NodeB implements conversion of data streams between the Iub interface and a Uu interface and also partially manages the radio resources.
The NodeB is a base station (or a radio transceiver) in a WCDMA system, including a radio transceiver and a baseband processing unit. The NodeB interconnects with the RNC through a standard Iub interface and mainly implements physical layer protocol processing of the Uu interface. The main functions of the NodeB include spectrum spreading, modulation, channel coding and de-spreading, demodulation, and channel decoding, as well as mutual conversions between baseband signals and radio frequency signals.
The RNC is a radio network controller that controls radio resources of the UTRAN. The RNC mainly implements such functions as connection setup and disconnection, handover, macro diversity combination, and radio resource management control.
To maintain the competitiveness of future networks, the 3GPP puts forward a brand-new network evolution architecture to meet the application requirements on the mobile network in the coming ten years or even longer, which includes system architecture evolution (SAE, system architecture evolution) and long term evolution (LTE, Long Term Evolution) of the access network. The evolved access network is named evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN, Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network). The goal of network evolution is to provide an all-IP network with small delay, high data rate, large system capacity, wide coverage, and low cost. Because this is a brand-new network architecture, all nodes, functions, and procedures under the current architecture are subject to substantive changes.
An evolved packet core network architecture may be shown in FIG. 3, including three logical function entities, namely, a mobility management entity (Mobility Management Entity, MME), a serving SAE gateway (Serving SAE GW), and a packet data network SAE gateway (PDN (Packet Data Network) SAE GW).
The MME is responsible for mobility management on a control plane, including user context and mobility state management and temporary user identity allocation, corresponding to a control plane of a serving GPRS support node (SGSN) in a current GPRS/UMTS system.
The Serving SAE GW is responsible for initiating paging to downlink data in an idle state and managing and storing IP bearer parameters and intra-network routing information, corresponding to a data plane of the SGSN and a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN, Gateway GPRS Support Node) in the current GPRS/UMTS system.
The PDN SAE GW serves as a user plane anchor point between different access systems.
The policy and charging rule function entity (Policy and Charging Rule Function, PCRF) is used for policy control and decision and stream charging control.
The home subscriber server (Home Subscriber Server, HSS) is used to store user subscription information.
A network structure of the E-UTRAN is shown in FIG. 4, where a mobility management entity (Mobility Management Entity, MME) and an eNB are connected through an S1-MME interface, a serving SAE gateway (Serving SAE GW) and an eNB are connected through an S1-U interface, and two eNBs are connected through an X2 interface.
Conventional network optimization is based on drive test data. A drive tester is used to collect data such as level and quality of a network and the data is analyzed to find out problems related to coverage, capacity, QoS, and mobility of the network. In this way, network optimization is implemented specifically to the affected areas.
When the network scale grows constantly, it becomes increasingly harder to implement network optimization relying on experience only. Moreover, due to the constraint of the drive test route, the drive test data may not uncover all network problems. Accordingly, operators require automatic network optimization. Automatic network optimization is capable of minimizing the OPEX of an operator, maximizing network utilization at the lowest equipment cost, reducing the experience requirement and dependence on the network optimization personnel, and relieving the work load of the network optimization personnel.
To reduce conventional drive tests which require a large proportion of manual work and to collect data more effectively, the 3GPP is studying a substitution of automatic report of network optimization required parameters by ordinary commercial terminals for the conventional manual collection of drive test data (terminal measurement data). This automatic report of terminal measurement data by ordinary commercial terminals may be used as a basic method of MDT (Minimization of drive test, minimization of drive test) to collect the drive test data (terminal measurement data).
FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a user equipment tracing method in the prior art. An element management system (EMS, Element Management System) may broadcast parameter configurations to trace to all network element nodes in the system so as to implement signaling trace on a specific user or device.
The network element nodes in the network send recorded trace data to a Trace data collecting entity. After the entity collects signaling trace data of a specific user, faults and problems in the network may be assessed and diagnosed according to analysis of the trace data.
501. An EMS sends a Trace Session Activation (Trace Session Activation) message to an HSS or an MME.
The Trace Session Activation message is used to trigger a signaling trace procedure for a specific user or device, and carries trace configuration parameters including international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI, International Mobile Subscriber Identity) or international mobile equipment identity (IMEI), trace reference (Trace Reference Identity), triggering events (Triggering events), trace depth (Trace Depth), list of NE types to trace (List of NE types to trace), list of interfaces (List of Trace Interfaces), and IP address of trace collection entity (IP address of Trace Data Collection Entity).
502-504. The HSS stores the trace configuration parameters. When a user to trace accesses the network, the user sends an Attach Request (Attach Request) to the network, and sends an Update Location Request (Update Location Request) to the HSS to update its location information.
505. The HSS checks whether the user needs tracing, and if yes, sends the trace configuration parameters to the MME by using an Update Location Answer (Update Location Answer).
506. The MME stores the trace configuration parameters, initiates a trace logging session specific to the user, and sends the trace configuration parameters to an eNodeB by using an Initial Context Setup Request (Initial Context Setup Request).
The eNodeB stores the trace configuration parameters and initiates the trace logging session specific to the user.
This method, however, only implements user-specific signaling data trace for network elements on the network side and may not implement collection and analysis of data on a user terminal. This limits the effects of network fault assessment and diagnosis, and may not evaluate the radio environment where the user is located. As a result, possible problems in network coverage, capacity, QoS and mobility may not be detected.